Ryan has work cut out for him

December 16, 2012

If Tim Ryan is seriously considering a bid for Ohio governor in 2014, the Democratic congressman has a lot of work ahead of him to become familiar with voters.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows that 74 percent of people questioned reported they don't know enough about Ryan, among a handful of Democrats who have already expressed an interest in running for governor, to form an opinion about the lawmaker.

Fifteen percent of the 1,165 people polled favored Ryan and 10 percent reported an unfavorable opinion.

Ryan said last week he's still weighing a run for the governor in two years, presumably against Gov. John Kasich, and that he would have a decision sometime early in 2013.

He said his recent re-appointment to the prestigious House Appropriations Committee will have some sway on his decision, maybe meaning he'll be less likely to run.

So will what former Gov. Ted Strickland decides. If Strickland decides to run, it's unlikely Ryan will. He's said before his decision depends on what the former governor does.

The poll also included Strickland and two other possible Democratic candidates.

Among everyone, Strickland received the highest marks, getting a 41 percent favorable rating, but 29 percent said they haven't heard enough about Strickland to make an opinion.

Ed FitzGerald, Cuyahoga County executive, has the most work to do; 84 percent didn't know enough about him to form an opinion. He received ratings of 10 percent favorable and 5 percent unfavorable.

The polls also showed that Kasich has a favorable job approval rating - 42 percent to 35 percent, which is the first time since he was sworn in that voters have given the Republican a favorable rating.

But it's not all good news for Kasich.

By an almost identical margin, 43 percent to 36 percent, voters told the poll that Kasich doesn't deserve a second term.

Although things are looking better for Kasich, Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said Kasich still has a lot of work to do to convince voters he deserves a second term and ''there is significant support for a primary challenge to him.''

''One in five voters are not sure whether they want him around another four years,'' Brown said.

The poll shows voters say 44 percent to 37 percent that another Republican should challenge Kasich for the GOP nomination in two years and that 45 percent of people who describe themselves as Republican say no other Republican should challenge the governor.

The poll was done Dec. 4 to 9 and has a margin of error of 2.9 percent. In a separate poll, Ohio voters sounded off on national issues that have been getting attention lately.